Message of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias on the occasion of International Women’s Day 8 March 2015 This year, International Women’s Day highlights the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that twenty years’ after its adoption remains an essential roadmap for the achievement of gender equality and women’s rights. Gender inequalities in the management of natural resources and in the safeguarding of the environment was one of the critical areas of concern to which the Platform for Action called for action from Governments, the international community and civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The Platform set out actions to involve women actively in environmental decision-making at all levels; integrate gender concerns and perspectives in policies and programmes for sustainable development, and; strengthen or establish mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels to assess the impact of development and environmental policies on women. The Gender Plan of Action under the Convention on Biological Diversity, updated for the period 20152020 by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention at its twelfth meeting, contributes to each of these three objectives. It provides for actions to mainstream gender into the work undertaken by all actors towards the objectives of the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. These include actions to mainstream gender into national biodiversity strategies and action plans; to address policy obstacles and strengthen capacity and the political will for mainstreaming gender into work under the Convention; to gain the full and effective participation of women in implementation measures and take account of the needs of women in designing and implementing such actions; to build partnerships, ensure consistency with other relevant instruments, and benefit from lessons learned and examples of good practice from other spheres; and to ensure the equitable involvement of women, particularly indigenous women, in all levels of decision-making relevant to the Convention. As we remind ourselves of the vision of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the accomplishments made over the last twenty years, and the many needs and challenges that remain, I urge all Parties to the Convention and all stakeholders to redouble efforts in the implementation of the Gender Plan of Action under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Our collective efforts will make a major contribution to addressing the gaps that still remain in making gender equality a reality and to achieving our vision of a sustainable future, living in harmony with nature. __________ Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity United Nations Environment Programme 413 Saint-Jacques Street, Suite 800, Montreal, QC, H2Y 1N9, Canada Tel : +1 514 288 2220 Fax : +1 514 288 6588 [email protected] www.cbd.int